Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 24
“A helper? From the Central Continent?” Dogora still looked confused.
Allen turned to the queen. “Does the fact that you’re bringing this up mean he’s already arrived?” He asked expectantly. “If so, why isn’t he here?”
“He’s already h—” Dogora cut himself off and turned to the room’s large double doors with the rest of the Gamers.
A young man with hair the color of water walked in, following the Spirit B serving as his guide. Naturally, Allen’s companions immediately recognized this young man.
“You sure run your superiors ragged, Allen. It wouldn’t hurt you to show those above you a bit more respect, you know?”
“What’re you saying? Oh. My. God. Did you make the trip allll the way from the Central Continent?! Just for our sake?! You’re so kind, oh esteemed Hero!”
The sight of Allen casually exchanging banter with the young man shocked Cecil so much that she completely forgot she was in the presence of royalty. “Wha— Why is Helmios— I mean, the Lord Hero?!” she shouted, then grabbed Allen and began shaking him violently. “Why. Is. He. Here?!”
“Okay, okay, let me explain!”
Allen did his best to calm Cecil down, then began describing how he had reached out to the Hero who was still on the Giamutan border to ask for advice on defeating Demonic Deity Rehzel. Through listening to Helmios’s account of his fight against other Demonic Deities in the past, however, Allen realized that they were significantly stronger than he had expected. His new skill, Deputize, was nowhere near enough to make up the difference, and even on the off chance that the No-life Gamers beat Rehzel, it would be at enormous sacrifice.
In light of all this, Allen had decided to take the strategy of “summoning” Helmios—who had two Demonic Deity kills under his belt and the Extra Skill that made them possible—to Rohzenheim. And so he swiftly made his move, first delivering a considerable number of Blessings of Heaven to Giamut before having the queen contact the Giamutan emperor with her “conditions.”
“Conditions?” Cecil asked apprehensively. “What conditions?”
Helmios answered on Allen’s behalf. “I’m on loan for ten days. Apparently I’m worth as much as a thousand elven elixirs. Good thing that’s now cleared up, right?”
“Bartering using the Hero...” Cecil was left at a loss for any further words.
The world’s one and only Hero, the acclaimed champion whom everyone held in such esteem, had been bandied about as a mere bargaining chip. What made it all the worse was that it had worked, and the negotiation had gone through.
As his companions cast looks of pity at the dejected man, Allen shrugged and said, “Rohzenheim is in the middle of an incredibly taxing war. We can’t very well give away precious elven elixirs without proper compensation in return, now can we?”
“‘Compensation’... How’d you even get Lord Helmios here anyway? Wait, don’t tell me...” Cecil took a better look at Helmios and noticed his mussed up hair and appearance. He clearly did not just get off a magic ship.
“That sort of see-through girl who spoke to me before suddenly turned up, saying that His Imperial Majesty had already given permission for everything, and then I was unceremoniously thrown onto the back of some giant bird that flew me here,” Helmios recounted.
“Your immediate presence is greatly appreciated.” Allen inclined his head briefly. What luck that I picked up a Hero willing to join my party on the Central Continent. You need a proper roster to take on a boss, after all.
It was just common sense to make thorough preparations before heading into a boss battle. This was all the more true when facing a particular boss for the first time.
If Giamut had refused to loan out the Hero, the fight with Rehzel would have to be put off for years, during which time the elves would then have had to make many very difficult decisions that might have led to further casualties. Thankfully, the elven elixirs had left more than enough of an impact, and the Giamutan emperor did not hesitate to lend out the Hero in exchange for writing off the debt for a thousand Blessings.
“But what will happen with the war situation on the Central Continent without the Hero around?” Cecil asked, concerned.
“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that,” Helmios said reassuringly. “Thanks to those ‘elven elixirs,’ we’ve turned the tide and are almost finished mopping up the dregs of the Demon Lord Army’s forces.”
I bet another reason the emperor agreed to lend out Helmios was because they were already winning. He figured now’s a good time to prioritize building Giamut’s relationship with Rohzenheim.
“Well then, there’s no need to keep standing around here, so let’s go talk in a conference room.” Allen bowed to the queen, then clapped Helmios on the shoulder and steered him out of the room.
“I-I suppose.” The poor Hero let himself be herded out the door, still visibly shocked at learning that he had been used as a mere bit of leverage.
＊ ＊ ＊
The No-life Gamers and Hero Helmios set to immediately get to work discussing how to defeat Demonic Deity Rehzel once they reached the conference room prepared for them. As soon as they sat down, however, the queen, Grand Marshal Siguul, Field Marshal Lukdraal, and Spirit User Gatoluuga filed in as well. They wanted to join the meeting too, as it was no exaggeration to say that the outcome of this battle would determine Rohzenheim’s future. The dozen or so faces gathered around the large, round table were all deadly serious.
Before starting in earnest, however, food was brought out, turning their strategy session into a lunch meeting. The meal was partly meant as thanks to the Hero for making the long journey.
“Oh wow, it’s been so long since I last had elven food! Everything looks delicious!” Helmios exclaimed before digging into the mostly vegetarian fare. Having been born a commoner, the Hero did not actually know high-class etiquette.
“Speaking of it being a while, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you, Helmios,” Allen said pointedly.
“What is it?”
“How do you find the time to visit Rohzenheim and Baukis while in the middle of fighting the Demon Lord Army at the Giamutan border?”
He traveled to Rohzenheim to pick up the MP Recovery Rings and to Baukis to hit up the Rank S dungeon there, right? Is he actually playing hooky?
“Oh, good question.” Helmios continued stuffing his face with a level of gusto that surprised Cecil and Keel, who had both been formally educated. “Truth is, we aren’t fighting every single day of the year at the border. You’d be surprised to know how much time there is where nothing’s happening at all.”
The Hero continued describing his daily life in between bites. Understanding this to be a rare occasion, the No-life Gamers and elves all listened with interest. Krena was the only one who still had her attention entirely focused on the food.
As it turned out, everything related to the fighting—including traveling, sharing strategies between forces, and cleaning up afterward—only made up two or three months in a year. The amount of time where Helmios was personally involved in the fighting was even shorter.
“What do you do during the rest of the time?” Cecil asked.
“You’re, uh, Cecil, yes?”
“Yes, sir. I’m Cecil, a member of Allen’s party.”
Helmios had met the rest of the No-life Gamers in the headmaster’s office back at the Academy, but he was not particularly familiar with them as Allen usually did most of the talking.
“All right, nice to meet you, Cecil. So, as for your question. When I’m not fighting, hmm, let me see... There are about twenty Academies in Giamut, so I visit them all and give lessons like I did at yours.”
“Twenty?! There are twenty places as big as that?!” Dogora exclaimed.
Helmios chuckled. “Incredible, right? And that’s just the Academies for training soldiers to fight the Demon Lord Army. The empire has other institutions you may be familiar with as well, such as merchant schools and noble colleges.”
According to Helmios, Giamut had always had military academies, but they were not all that numerous before. Then, when the Demon Lord Army appeared, Giamut converted these academies to specialize in fighting monsters. However, it quickly became clear they were insufficient to produce the number of troops needed, and so the empire built more.
If this were Japan, I guess this would be like having twenty National Defense Academies. Oh, but doesn’t Giamut have three different kinds?
Allen recalled that Rifol, his classmate at the Academy, had told him that the Empire of Giamut possessed both a population and landmass dozens of times the size of Ratash’s. While Ratash only had the single Academy and thus there was no need to make any sort of distinction, the Academies in Giamut were split into three types based on the curriculum they offered.
Type One: One-year program. Provides combat training for common soldiers.
Type Two: Three-year program. Besides combat training, also teaches detailed military strategy and general education.
Type Three: Five-year program. Provides gifted education for nobles and those with rare Talents.
When Allen first heard this, he assumed the empire was mainly sending its troops through the first type of academy, where they would hammer into their soldiers the basics of combat and the discipline to always obey orders before shipping them off to the battlefield. To his surprise, however, it was the second type that actually met the requirements stipulated in the Five Continent Alliance’s policy of “at least one Academy per country.” Helmios himself had attended this type of academy.
Helmios continued, “I also take some time to take on the dungeons in Giamut and other countries to gather up gear to make my party stronger. Being the Hero and all, pretty much any country will let me in without any paperwork.”
“I see.” Allen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And you go to all these places with Sylvia and the others?”
“Who’s that?” Krena asked, looking up at the unfamiliar name. Apparently she had been listening even while eating.
“Sylvia’s the Sword Lord in Helmios’s party,” Allen replied.
Helmios nodded. “Yep. It depends on the particular mission, but I’m usually partied up with ten people, give or take. Most always, that includes a Saintess, an Archwizard, and a Sword Lord.”
Hmm, so everyone at the core of his party has three-star classes. That’s how they’re able to go crawling in the Rank S dungeon, which I’m sure gives pretty good rewards.
The most important thing in fighting the Demon Lord Army was winning, so getting stronger was a must. Obtaining better gear was the only way for someone in Normal Mode who had already capped out their levels to grow any stronger. This was something that was also on Allen’s mind—but Giamut, as a massive empire, had the resources to have first pick of those with three-star classes, who presumably would also have the strength to get through the Rank S dungeon. Through their efforts, this chosen group would boost themselves further, and once fully upgraded, they could then be sent to the battlefield as a special operations unit.
“Thank you for sharing with us what it is you do,” Allen said. “By the way, you mentioned that the fighting is largely wrapped up on the Central Continent. May I ask for specifics?”
Since Allen Unsummoned almost all the Summons he had stationed on the Giamutan front in order to use their slots for the battles in Rohzenheim, he was entirely in the dark regarding the current situation on the Central Continent.
“We’ve killed most of the monsters in the ten days since you sent over the elixirs.”
“How many is ‘most’?”
The Demon Lord Army had a tendency to retreat when it suffered too many casualties. This was something that Allen had learned in the Academy and also witnessed himself on multiple occasions.
“I’d say about seventy to eighty percent. The rest withdrew, so we sent out parties to hunt them down. When I left, there were still plenty of elixirs remaining, so I’m sure our forces are still going strong.”
Whenever the Demon Lord Army retreated, it would invariably return. This was why the top brass of the Giamutan military was so adamant on killing the monsters while they were still fleeing.
“Did your forces encounter any demons or Demonic Deities after that?”
The last time Allen asked this question, Helmios could only reply, “I don’t know.” This time, however, Helmios had a proper answer.
“Yep. There was one archdemon and three demons. We killed all four.”
“You with your party?”
“Mm-hm. That’s what our party’s for, after all.”
I see. Normal soldiers can’t handle archdemons since they’re roughly as strong as upper-tier Rank A monsters. That’s why Giamut assigned a party to Helmios: to take care of archdemons specifically. And the rare Demonic Deity too, probably.
Normally, Helmios and his party were assigned to fight on the front lines like any other normal soldiers. However, whenever an archdemon or Demonic Deity appeared, Helmios’s group would be sent in as an elite commando unit to take them down.
And when the Sword Lord and/or Saintess with him get killed, he gets a new member.
Helmios said that he worked best with a group of around ten, so there was a system set up to replace any party members who died. In order to maintain this, Giamut kept a very tight fist on its three-star elites.
“Now, my turn. Your...Summons, is it? Can you tell me what they can do?”
“Of course. We will be fighting side by side, after all.”
The No-life Gamers looked at Allen with surprise. Up until now, he had always been rather cagey about revealing his abilities to others.
Oh yeah, we did go back and forth about this quite a bit at my entrance exam. In the end, I did only just show them Mousey and walk away.
Put simply, Allen was willing to reveal information about himself whenever he believed necessary but would withhold it otherwise—that was all there was to it. This time, he had sent for Helmios because he thought the Hero’s help would be paramount to their victory. And so Allen took Helmios through his Summons’ abilities—only the ones that would be useful for this fight, of course.
When Allen finished, Helmios went, “I see.” He could tell that Allen was holding something back, but chose not to probe.
“Is there anything you want me to elaborate on?” Allen asked.
Helmios shook his head. “Nah, I’m good for now. If something comes to mind later, I’ll just ask then.”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s talk strategy, then.”
“Sorry, hold on. There is something I want to confirm.”
“Yes?”
“Everyone here is taking part in the meeting, but it’s only you and me who’re gonna be fighting, right?”
Dogora indignantly leaped to his feet and pounded the table with his fist, yelling, “Whaddya mean by that?!” The plates floated up for a brief moment, and the table bore a new dent.
“What I mean is, you’ll be in our way,” Helmios replied bluntly, not missing a beat.
“I dare you to say that again!” Dogora roared as the rest of the No-life Gamers also turned to Allen with querying looks. This time, however, even Allen had been taken by surprise.
Uh, I wasn’t actually thinking of fighting Rehzel with just the two of us. But I suppose he has a point: I should at least be up front with everyone.
Allen looked at his friends. “I want you to think for yourselves whether you want to come along for this fight.”
“You mean we can stay behind?” This unexpected turn left Krena very bewildered.
“That’s right,” Allen nodded. “Don’t make the decision just yet, though. I’ll tell you everything Helmios told me about how strong Demonic Deities are. Listen carefully, then decide.”
Dogora sat back down, his face gravely serious.
Allen then told his companions that Helmios had only managed to kill two of the five Demonic Deities he had ever encountered, and that his party of three-star classes had suffered casualties each time. Helmios listened to the account with his eyes closed, not saying anything. When Allen was done, the conference room fell very quiet as everyone lost themselves in their thoughts.
After a long time, Cecil lowered her hand from her chin. “All right, I realize that this fight will be very dangerous. What do you think are our chances of victory, Allen?”
“Chances of victory” was a phrase that Allen mentioned often when the party faced a Rank A monster or some other powerful opponents for the first time.
“Even with Helmios, it’ll be fifty-fifty. There’s a large spectrum in how strong Demonic Deities can be. And for all we know, Rehzel could even be a Greater Demonic Deity.”
“What’s a Greater Demonic Deity?” Cecil asked.
“As the name implies, they’re even more powerful Demonic Deities. So if Rehzel is a Greater Demonic Deity, we probably have zero chance of winning. Helmios fought one once and his entire party died.”
“And they were definitely more powerful than all of you,” Helmios added.
The room fell silent again. Helmios turned to Dogora, who had his arms crossed, and asked in a quiet, almost admonishing tone, “Dogora, right? Why do you even want to fight Rehzel? It’s not like Rohzenheim is your home, right?”
Dogora paused, then answered, “It is my friend’s, though.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Sophie’s my friend, and this is her country. And Allen’s gonna fight Rehzel, and he’s my friend too. That’s reason enough for me.”
Helmios looked into Dogora’s eyes, and the boy stared back with a stubbornly clenched jaw. Eventually, Helmios sighed.
“I see.”
“Allen, what would you do if you realized you couldn’t win?” Krena asked in an attempt to shift the mood in the room.
“I’d run away, of course. Right away. No hesitation. In fact, we’ll be having a meeting to basically go over how we can pull out when things go sideways.”
Allen posed confidently when delivering this line, making Keel spit out his drink. “Pbbfft!”
